By Cesar Antonio Nucum Jr.

SAN FRANCISCO – In their mission to continue the fight against alleged fascism, imperialism, exploitation and economic plunder in the Philippines, around a hundred members of San Francisco Bay Area Filipino and solidarity organizations, concerned community members, and protestors from EDSA People Power in the Philippines gathered at the San Francisco Philippine Consulate on February 25 and commemorated the anniversary of the broad mass mobilization that ousted Ferdinand Marcos Sr. in 1986. 

Activists, inspired by the legacy of the EDSA People Power uprising, take up the mantle to continue the fight to organize Filipinos from all sectors against fascism, imperialism, exploitation, and economic plunder in the Philippines that persists today. The current Marcos administration announced  that EDSA would no longer be considered a national non-working holiday in the Philippines. 

The activists consisted of officers and member of BAYAN Northern California, Malaya Movement, International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines

Currently, Philippine President Ferdinand ‘Bong Bong’ Marcos Jr. is alleged to be following in his father’s footsteps: continued to export Filipino labor all over the world, including to the U.S., even during the threat of President Donald Trump’s mass deportations. As of 2023, there are an estimated 2.6 million overseas Filipino workers outside of the Philippines, with an additional 1 million undocumented Filipinos. 

The activists also welcomed the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte by the House of Representatives on the grounds of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, bribery, graft and corruption, and other high crimes earlier this February.  

They also demanded that the Senate expedite the impeachment process aside from asking that the International Criminal Court hold her father, former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, responsible for the 30,000 extrajudicial killings under his presidency.  

Throughout the program, cultural performances were also offered with Professor Joi Barrios, cultural worker, former martial law activist, and current Philippine language lecturer at UC Berkeley, read one of her poems, about being part of the EDSA Uprising. The League of Filipino Students at UC Berkeley and GABRIELA Berkeley, performed Awit ng Pag-Asa, or Song of Hope, to highlight the belief in a better future that fuels the Filipino people’s commitment to continue fighting back. 

The speakers and organizations present at the rally represented only a fraction of Northern California’s strong opposition to the alleged Marcos regime’s corruption and plunder of the Filipino people. Attendees demanded that the Philippine Consulate General of San Francisco meet the needs of the Filipino community and provide assistance and services to migrant and undocumented Filipinos, and they committed to continuing defending the rights of their communities against state-sponsored attacks on rights and livelihood.

Pyxie from GABRIELA USA, an organization of Filipina women fighting for National Democracy in the Philippines connected the history of the EDSA uprising to today and highlighted the roles of all sectors of society in uniting against fascism and repression.

“The 39th anniversary of people power uprising honors the women, workers, farmers, students, and broad masses who stood firmly against tyranny and plunder and who proved that the power of the people can bring down the most despotic dictator. Filipinos continue to suffer under the very same conditions that force 7,500 Filipinos to migrate overseas in search of better livelihood every single day.” 

Clara, regional coordinator of Kabataan Alliance enumerated the specific issues that Filipino youth face: low-quality education, historical revisionism, attacks on DEI measures, and cuts to funding.

“Among these cuts to funding, we must ask why the government has money to continue bankrolling the Marcos administration’s human rights violations, but not enough to support our education? His violent crackdown on our migrant kababayan will require that we boldly organize to defend our people no matter how intense the repression is,” informed Clara whose group is a national alliance of Filipino youth organizations, clubs, and cultural groups who are united in the fight for a pro-people education.

Luke from Anakbayan Daly City, a grassroots National Democratic youth organization read the testimonies of two Filipinos who work at Jollibee and face harassment from their managers and wage theft.

In doing so, Luke gave a glimpse of the common plight and conditions of Filipino migrants stating, “the Philippine government treats its people as commodities to be sent abroad for profit, all while neglecting their rights and welfare.”

“It’s time we demand real change—not just for migrants, but for all workers suffering under this exploitative system. We call on the SF Philippines consulate to release the assistance of national funds to all Filipino workers in need,” Luke stressed.

Members of the San Francisco and Oakland Committees for Human Rights in the Philippines Laine and Hazel, spoke on the continued alleged repression and fascist attacks on human rights activists in the Philippines under the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. regime.

“The deadly practice of red-tagging activists hits close to home with our own Brandon Lee, who endured an assassination attempt at the hands of the Armed Forces of the Philippines over 5 years ago. In all that time, he has still not seen justice for his injuries,” cited Laine and Hazel adding that Brandon’s colleagues are still being harassed and facing false charges until now as a respected artist, labor leader, and spokesperson for the Kilusang Mayo Uno – Cordillera Mike Cabangon, was slapped with terrorism finance charges.” 

For their part, Mia and Alora exposed the economic stress and forced migration of Filipinos and called on peace-loving Filipinos and allies to “take up their [Filipinos in the homeland] struggle as our own.

“We know that Filipinos in the Philippines will only be free when we fearlessly overthrow our oppressors and retake our vibrant and resource-rich homeland. As we can see from our speakers today, the people—the youth, students, women, teachers, workers, peasants and all the oppressed masses, the majority, have the collective power to defeat their enemies.”